Bangladesh sacked-minister faces arrest for criticising Haj pilgrimage
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DHAKA: A Bangladesh court ordered the arrest on Wednesday of a former minister who was dismissed last week after Islamists staged nationwide protests calling for his prosecution over remarks criticising the Haj pilgrimage.
The Chief Metropolitan Magistrate court in the Bangladesh capital Dhaka issued an arrest warrant for Abdul Latif Siddique for allegedly “wounding religious sentiments” of the country’s majority Muslim population, police inspector Aminur Rahman said.
“The arrest warrant has been sent to a police station in his hometown,“ Rahman said.
Siddique, formerly an influential minister in the cabinet of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, accompanied her last month on a visit to New York where he spoke out against the Haj pilgrimage as well as against a non-political Islamic group, the Tabligh Jamaat.
Local television aired footage of Siddique telling Bangladeshi expatriates in New York that, “I am dead against the Haj and the Tablig Jamaat (a non-political Islamic group)”.
“Two million people have gone to Saudi Arabia to perform Haj. Haj is a waste of manpower. Those who perform Haj do not have any productivity,” he said in the televised footage.
“They (Haj pilgrims) deduct from the economy, spend a lot of money abroad,” he said.
The comments drew immediate fire back home from the hardline Islamist group Hefajat-i-Islam whose leaders called him “an apostate” and set a 24-hour deadline for the government to dismiss him from the cabinet.
Returning home, Hasina who leads a secular government, fired Siddique and also launched a move to strip him of membership in her ruling Awami League party.
If he loses his party role, Siddique will also automatically lose his seat in parliament.
At a New York rally where Siddique was the lone speaker, TV footage also showed him making critical comments about Hasina’s influential son and technology adviser, Sajeeb Wazed Joy.
Published in Dawn, October 16th, 2014
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Comments (52) Closed
Oct 16, 2014 09:18am
I salute current govt for their strict policy, whoever a person is he shall be treated like others.
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Oct 16, 2014 02:04pm
Bangladesh should be careful here.
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Oct 16, 2014 02:18pm
i wish he visits there to perform hajj only then he will realize that inner satisfaction is far critical than productivity or economy
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Oct 16, 2014 02:29pm
Mr. Siddique is just disguising his hatred for Religion (Islam) as a logical argument regarding wastage of money and manpower. If he is sincere, he should also recommend banning (or penalizing) all Bangalis who travel to other countries for tourism as they also spend huge amounts in foreign countries and waste a lot of manpower hours without any direct benefit to Bangladesh.
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Oct 16, 2014 02:33pm
I also wish Mr. Siddique was aware that Hajj is not a recreational trip, rather it is one of the five basic pillars of Islam and mandatory for those who have the necessary means.
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Oct 16, 2014 02:34pm
society where there is no place for dissent tend to rot with time.
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Oct 16, 2014 02:38pm
Well the Hajj is no different than people traveling to foreign nation for a vacation, but instead finding religious solace. I do not think this person should have been sacked, but should be reprimanded instead.
By sacking him, you are fueling the fire of the extremist Muslim groups who use this hate as fuel to further their cause.
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Oct 16, 2014 02:42pm
Bangali leader has no religious knowledge .
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Oct 16, 2014 02:48pm
I fully support the minister, what wrong did he said. He should have been asked to prove it in a national debate. Merely some nonsense mullah brigade stands up and you can not question their nonsense behavior. Govt. action is another way of pampering these foolish mullah brigade.
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Oct 16, 2014 02:48pm
Judiciary of Bangladesh, functioning better than, it would have been under Pakistan.
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Oct 16, 2014 03:09pm
Muslims should encourage discussions on shortcomings/absurdness of their religion. They should learn to evolve. Siddique should be commended for starting a discussion on the futileness of Haj. Hasina is just trying to appease the uneducated hardliners. This is not good for her country.
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Oct 16, 2014 03:14pm
This may be because Bangladeshi have been treated badly in Arab Countries. Videos supporting this are on youtube. But it is very strange that muslims talk of equal rights, freedom of speech etc etc. in non-muslim countries and now see how they are supporting action against freedom of speech. If it is not suppression than what? ....... no sane person can find anything offensive in this.
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Oct 16, 2014 03:17pm
Hasina did not care remarks made against Hajj, but I am sure she got a revenge of making him comments against his son.
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Oct 16, 2014 03:24pm
Bangladesh, it seems is going back to the bronze age. They should learn from Pakistan's mistakes and not let the religious right take over.
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Oct 16, 2014 04:06pm
ALLAH grants TAUFEEQ to someone HE wants to go for haj & visit HIS grand house.Perhaps one day ALLAH might give him HIDAYAT to go and perform haj.
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Oct 16, 2014 04:07pm
Crazy man . How dare he said like this .
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Oct 16, 2014 04:40pm
@ Dixit all I can say to you that once enter Islam and perform Hajj then all sanity will be prevailed for finding offense
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Oct 16, 2014 04:44pm
It's sad that the natural urge of Bengalis to question and challenge religious dogmas that has been evident throughout their history, is being buried by blind fundamentalist zealots. Bangladesh is as different from Pakistan and chalk is from cheese. They are culturally much more open to outside influences and have an open society where debate is tolerated, if not encouraged, even against the tide of ignorance led by rabid mullahs. More power to people like Abdul Latif Siddique.
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Oct 16, 2014 05:06pm
@Alex Furguson Bronze age was golden period in human history and today's so called modern age , space age is the darkest age in human history.
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Oct 16, 2014 05:09pm
Haj is obligatory on every Muslim who can afford it. Ministers remarks are blasphemous and run in to kufr. He should be punished
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Oct 16, 2014 05:40pm
Why you can find solace only in Mecca. Cant you find that in your own country Mosque. This Saudi arabia is earning in billions by marketing Haj. God is not only in Mecca. He is everywhere. He is in your home too when you worship with whole heart. There is no need to waste money to go to Mecca and get that peacefulness when you get it at your home.
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Oct 16, 2014 05:56pm
So Hasina did not certainly become a devoted Muslim but fired the minister because he criticized her son. Got it.
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Oct 16, 2014 05:58pm
i thought BD people are liberals. Too much religeousness must be criticised.
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Oct 16, 2014 05:58pm
@Zafar Iqbal, you are right, she fired him because he criticized her son.
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Oct 16, 2014 06:22pm
Bangladesh is much more liberal than Pakistan..
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Oct 16, 2014 06:48pm
Sounds like Martin Luther. But at a wrong time and at a wrong place.
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Oct 16, 2014 07:12pm
@kartz Haj is mandatory on those who can afford it.
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Oct 16, 2014 07:33pm
@Zafar Iqbal
Yes Here we have People with all religious Knowledge.
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Oct 16, 2014 07:36pm
@janan
What he was saying Bangladesh as a country cannot afford it. It is too much foreign currency. He was talking economic impactnot religious aspect of it.
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Oct 16, 2014 08:14pm
@Sunil Sinha
Through the hatred and bias Indian eyes, Ethiopia would be better off than Pakistan in food security. But still they want to troll on Pakistani newspapers and pretend to be righteous.
Please do us a favor and instead visit Times of India website which is a better compliment to Indian mental faculties and it's values.
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Oct 16, 2014 08:24pm
Himself a Haji, Abdul Latif Siddique commented on 'Haj-economics' not Haj-rituals.
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Oct 16, 2014 08:43pm
@Zafar Iqbal : Can you re-phrase your comment. This is our trade mark to refer any one by origin or religion, namely Bengali, Pathan or Karanta etc. This is the sign of being poorly educated and crude mannered. Why can we not be civilized. This guy is poorly informed about Haj and simply I wish he goes for Haj as Muslim and then he will not say these things again. Believe me he will be a changed man.
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Oct 16, 2014 08:49pm
I see alot of hate and buch of emotional muslims... but I am totally with MR siddique on this one. Now days one pay anything between 3 to 4 thousand dollars up to 15 thousand dollars to perform a VIP hajj.
The saudis have made hajj in to a profit making business 10,000 riyal tent for mina alone? If you are poor you are deined access to any luxury and get treated like dirt..... if you are rich you can check in athe hilton resort with a kaba view window and also do tawaf from the hotel lobby if you really want to.... its just disgusting... I thought in islam we are suppose to treat everyone equally and a true muslim can never make money off aother muslim.. this is worst then soodh.
Shame on saudis.. Haj is not what is was suppose to me. its just there to make money and looth a bunch of emotional people.
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Oct 16, 2014 09:42pm
@khan If Haj is obligatory then Jinnah should be criticized as well for not performing Haj.
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Oct 16, 2014 10:51pm
@being human TRue bro ,, and Pakistan is a prime example
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Oct 16, 2014 11:13pm
The Minister Siddique was alluding to the poor Bengali people making the Saudi Government rich because of high cost of Hajj. Hajj should be affordable and accessible to the entire Ummah.
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Oct 16, 2014 11:15pm
@klobania If sanity prevails by going to Haj then please send Zaid Hamid, Hamid Gul, Mubashir Lucman over there. Even we have millions who think that sanity prevails by having a dip in Ganga river.
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Oct 16, 2014 11:18pm
@Waheed Iqbal What are other four pillars?
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Oct 16, 2014 11:50pm
@ppdas Not with Islam.
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Oct 17, 2014 12:33am
@Debadutta
Islam doesnot have any short comming. Islam is a complete way of life, since a man is born till death. Other religions are incomplete and they need to address their short commings. You should also seriously think about thoroughly reading Islam. Regards
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Oct 17, 2014 12:37am
@kartz
this one of the five pillar of Islam. dont commnent when you dont know about our religion. you should also think start studying Islam thoroughly.
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Oct 17, 2014 12:53am
@nadeem you said it man,exactly what my thoughts were
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Oct 17, 2014 03:18am
This is not he but American Dollars$$$ which made him give this statement...I am sure soon he will get Asylum in US or Canada as his life owuld be in danger....We will see..
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Oct 17, 2014 03:27am
@Hassan
Excellent analysis, on both counts.
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Oct 17, 2014 06:55am
This is his views. In secular democracies everybody has rights to express his/her views in respectful manner..
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Oct 17, 2014 12:08pm
Shocked to read such thing.It is shameful & disgusting what he said.Haj is compulsory and when we go there we are the guests of Allah.We pray at Mecca and sins are forgiven.Man returns clean.Siddiqui has talked nonsense.Just to make Jews & the Christians happy.May Allah forgive him Ameen
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Oct 17, 2014 01:15pm
Abdul Latif Siddique is one smart and patriotic man. He is merely pointing out that people from poor countries have not met their obligations at home. Therefor Haj is not obligatory on them. Better worship and do charitable acts in your own country. I wish there were more leaders like him in Pakistan and other poor countries.
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Oct 17, 2014 04:44pm
With 5 star hotels and air conditioned limos, Haj is beginning to resemble more like a product of " Club Mec" than a religious affair
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Oct 17, 2014 06:21pm
@a Pakistani who love Bangladesh What you are saying is your conviction, without any real or scientific proof. Most people on earth do not follow nor agree with your conviction. You are only 1/7 of the world's population. Stop trying to control it with suppressing other's counter views.
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Oct 17, 2014 11:17pm
i did not know that not believing in hajj is a crime
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Oct 18, 2014 07:20pm
If you don't change, you die. Muslims always have taken pride in the fact that Islam remained "pure" since its revelation to our beloved prophet. This mentality is NOT useful in advancement of our community in the this modern age. Other religions have evolved since their births and as muslims we must do the same otherwise our future generation will abandon the religion we hold so dearly.
First, Though I do not agree with the Bangladeshi minister 100%, his argument does make some economic sense. For example, many people in our community forget the fact that Hajj is mandatory only to those who can afford it. Yet, people with low income sell property and possessions to visit Mecca. I respect people's commitment to our religion, but economics should dictate the decision to go to Hajj.
Second, I totally agree with the minister's comment about Tablig Jamaat. This organization is responsible for moving Muslim backwards. Many promising young people in our community have been brainwashed by this organization. Islam is a scientific religion and will never advise its believers to leave schools, businesses, and families and reside at in various mosques to preach/practice islam for months at a time. Tabligi practitioners even forbid people from reading newspapers. Look what kind of disasters this organization has brought to Pakistan cricket team! Tabligi people also have joined many terrorist groups in other countries.
Muslim should take pride for the fact that people within the religion are voicing for change. This will make our religion sustainable. As India becomes backward and religious, Pakistani and Bangladeshi Muslims have an unique chance to change and evolve for a better future. Religion and spirituality is very important, but not a way of life.
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Oct 20, 2014 03:42am
The Muslims have rejected Islam Deen of Quoran and accepted whole heart man made Islam Mazhab which has been created by so called great scholars of Islam about thousand years ago.
Quoran commands that any one accept Islam Deen he must declare. I believe in Allah, His angels, His books, His Prophets and the day of judgement. Bukhari invented his own Islam Mazhab of five pillars.
Going to Haj was to show brother hood and introduce themselves and family to each other. Local were suppose to host the guests with slaughtering animals but today it is completely changed into business.
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